


I Need A Divorce

by Tonystarkisaslut



Series: Tumblr Prompts [121]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Arguing, Divorce, M/M, Past Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:41:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26092792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tonystarkisaslut/pseuds/Tonystarkisaslut
Summary: Anonymous asked:I read a fic by starkerforkife6969, and I really want to see you write a fic about a brutal divorce between Tony and Peter? Maybe focusing more on Peter’s POV?
Relationships: Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Peter Parker/Tony Stark
Series: Tumblr Prompts [121]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1372033
Comments: 138
Kudos: 274





	1. The Divorce

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: mentions of cheating, divorce, arguing, nasty fighting, angst
> 
> Fic mentioned in Prompt is linked at the end.

Peter stares out the window, feeling numb. He’s been feeling numb since he asked Tony for a divorce, and Tony said yes.

Tony said _yes_.

No “No, baby, we can work this out!”

No “Please don’t leave me.”

Not even a “Peter please, I love you!”

Peter had said “Tony, I need a divorce.” And Tony had said. “Okay.” Like he was bored, like Peter had asked for take out for dinner.

“Peter?”

Peter snaps out of it, looking back to his lawyer. “I’m sorry, I zoned out… what was the question?”

His lawyer, Natasha Romanoff, gives him a sad smile. “Peter, I’m a fantastic lawyer. The best of the best; it’s why I came to work for you. This is the case of a life time; you’re divorcing a billionaire, an owner of the biggest company in the world, a famous CEO. I can get you up to 50% of everything he has; I can get you _more_ , if you want. All you have to do is tell me what you want.”

Peter clears his throat, taking a couple deep breaths before he can talk. “I want visitation rights to see Morgan. I don’t want him to be able to keep me out of her life.”

Natasha writes that down quickly and nods. “I could get you sole custody.”

Peter grimaces. “I know. I don’t want that. I just want to be able to see her.”

Nat sighs heavily. “You’re making a very boring case, Peter.”

Peter shrugs, looking back out the window. “If possible, I would very much appreciate shared custody, I guess. I don’t think he’ll let that happen though.”

Natasha clicks her pen and puts it down. “Peter. What do you want from him? Not what do you think you could get; what do you _want_?”

Peter looks her in the eye, fighting back tears. “I want him to love me again, is what I want. I want to be married to him and raise Morgan with him and live the rest of my life with him. I don’t get what I want, anymore, Ms. Romanoff. He’s already won this fight; you could get me 100% of everything he owns and he’ll still have won. Get that through your head or find another client.”

~

Peter blushes and laughs softly, kissing Tony’s nose. “I’m in love with you, Tony Stark.”

Tony grins at him, looking at the room. It’s pretty nice, he’s very proud of it. It was a risk; moving all of Peter’s things in his apartment as a surprise. But it seems to have paid off.

“You can totally rearrange everything if you want, and you can get more decorations or-“ Tony is cut off with a kiss.

“Thank you, baby. I love it.”

Tony smiles I’m pride at his work, and then at Peter.

~

“Mr. Stark, Mr. Peter Stark. I’m here as a witness for this meeting. I’ll be recording everything and writing down highlights. This meeting is just a discussion to see if we can avoid going to court, nothing is finalized here in this meeting. Are you ready?”

Peter nods without looking up from the table. He assumes Tony nods as well, because the man speaks again. “Alright. A normal divorce with no prenup is considered a 50/50 split of assets, no matter who earned them or had them before the marriage. Discussion is allowed and encouraged, to deviate from this. Mr. Banner, if you would like to start.”

Peter’s head snaps up, looking to see Bruce sitting next to Tony. He didn’t know Bruce was his lawyer. _Ow_.

Bruce stands, clearing his throat. “My client would like to keep all of his hard earned income and assets, as seen before and after the marriage. He also wants sole custody of his daughter, Morgan Stark, as Mr. Peter Stark never adopted her after he married my client. He also wants half of Mr. Parker’s current bank account, to cover lawyer fees, emotional distress, and public humiliation to his name and his company.”

Peter stares at Tony, betrayal in his eyes. Peter doesn’t _have_ any money. He’s in an internship while he’s getting his doctorate, he doesn’t have any fucking money to give Tony.

Tony isn’t even paying attention. He’s on his phone.

Bruce sits, and the man writing things down motions for Natasha to stand.

Natasha is glaring at Bruce; perhaps there is a rivalry there Peter wasn’t aware of. “My client would also like to keep his earned money. He also wants shared custody of Morgan Stark, Mr. Stark’s daughter.” She sits down, and it’s silent for a few minutes.

Then, Bruce apparently can’t keep it in anymore. “What, that’s it? No part of the company, no half of Tony’s money? He wants his own money and shared custody? Not even going to fight for full custody?”

Tony is staring at Peter, and it isn’t a nice stare. It’s filled with hatred, with distaste and disgust. “What angle is this, _Parker_?” The way Tony spots his name like an insult twists like a knife in Peter’s gut. “What, divorcing me wasn’t enough? You need to play victim too? Poor little Peter Parker, deceived and hurt by mean old pervert Tony Stark, didn’t even want his money. Fuck you, Peter, I know you want more!”

Peter feels tears well in his eyes, and he fights to keep them at bay. He looks away; what the hell did he do to deserve such a look from Tony? “I’m not going to get what I want anyway, Tony. This is what I _need_. I’m only asking for what I need.”

Tony scoffs. “Bullshit. The press will be all over this; Poor Pathetic Peter Parker didn’t even ask for any money in his divorce; evil Tony Stark keeps it all. Yeah right. Up your demands.”

“Just so you can take it away from me?” Peter meets Tony’s eyes again, and it almost breaks him. “Haven’t you hurt me enough?”

Tony stands up. “You aren’t the victim here, Parker. _You_ wanted a divorce, not me.”

Peter shakes his head. “I wanted you to love me, is what I _wanted_. I _need_ a divorce.”

~

“Honey? Come to bed, it’s late—“

“Oh my god, would you shut up?” Tony turns to Peter, bags under his bloodshot eyes and mouth turned into a frown. “Why don’t you understand that I can’t stop until this is done? Just leave me alone.”

Peter feels his breath catch, and he swallows thickly. Tony has _never_ spoken to him like that before. He turns on his heel and leaves, not knowing what he could possibly say to that.

Morgan is standing outside her bedroom when Peter gets back upstairs, sniffling. “Oh, Morgan, what’s wrong?”

Morgan whimpers and runs to Peter, who hugs her without hesitation. “I had the nightmare again.”

She doesn’t need to elaborate. The car accident she was in with her mother was traumatizing; especially after her mother died.

Peter hugs her tight, petting her hair softly. “I’m here now, okay? I got you. How about you come sleep in the bed with me, yeah? You’ll be safe in sound with me.”

Morgan curls into Peter, head on his shoulder. “And daddy too?”

Peter winces at the mention of him, picking her up and carrying her to his bed. “Daddy is working, angel. I’m sorry. You and me, we’ll have a sleep over. No icky parents allowed.”

Morgan looks up at him with wide, sad eyes, and shakes her head. “But you’re my parent…you’re my papa…”

Peter’s heart does a lot of things at that sentence; he decides to focus on the happiness he feels at being accepted like that. “Okay, no icky daddy’s then. Just cool Papa’s like me.”

~

“That was a disaster, Tony. You ripped him to shreds in front of the witness!” Bruce runs a hand through his hair. “I told you to let me do the talking-“

“He’s playing games!” Tony shakes his head, walking a bit faster to his car. “He’s playing games and he’s going to spin this to the media to make me look bad, and—“

“Tony!” Bruce grabs his arm and makes him stop. “You aren’t this fucking dumb, Tony. The only reason I’m _your_ lawyer and not his is because Romanoff beat me to him. You _are_ bad, Tony, and _you_ are making yourself look like it. Not him. All he fucking wants is to be happy, and all you want is to make sure he dies within the next couple years of starvation without anyone loving him!”

Bruce shakes his head spits on the ground next to Tony’s shoes. “Look at what you’ve fucking done, Tony. Look at what you did to that poor kid. Because that’s what he is, Tony. He’s a kid. A kid you want to ruin because he wasn’t willing to sit there and take your abuse like a good little house husband.”

Tony stares at Bruce in shock. “You’re supposed to be my _friend_.”

Bruce looks to the sky. “You think someone who wasn’t your friend would call you out, and potentially lose the biggest case of their entire career?”

~

Peter shakes his head, tears streaming down his face. “I didn’t _do_ anything, Tony! I told Pepper I was worried about your health, I didn’t tell her to cut your work load back! I just talked to her as a friend—“

“She isn’t your friend!” Tony explodes at Peter. “She’s _my_ friend, and she tolerates you. You’re her friend’s husband, not her friend. None of ‘our’ friends think of you as a friend, you know that right?”

_Ouch_. Low blow. Tony knows that’s Peter’s biggest insecurity; that everyone is only pretending to like him. “I’m sorry Tony, I didn’t tell her to cut your workload back.”

“Well, she did! And now someone else is taking over the project I spent _months_ on, and it’s all your fault! Why can’t you keep your stupid head out of my business?!”

Peter feels hurt course through him. “Tony-“

“Just go away!”

~

Peter fiddles with his wedding ring, staring at it instead of meeting Pepper’s eyes. “How is he?”

Pepper is quiet for a long time. “He’s great. He’s found someone, actually. Started dating her in private. Morgan likes her.”

Peter chokes. They aren’t even technically _divorced_ yet. And he’s already found a replacement for Peter. And introduced her to Morgan. It took Tony a year of dating for Peter to meet Morgan. He takes a deep breath, hands shaking now. “Was he um… before I asked for a divorce?”

Pepper shrugs. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask. Seems awful fast though, doesn’t it?”

Peter’s face contorts in pain, and he covers his mouth. He takes a deep breath, trying to keep the urge to cry at bay. So not only did Tony stop loving him, he _cheated_ on him. “Right,” Peter whispers. He doesn’t think his voice can go above a whisper without him breaking down into sobs.

Pepper clears her throat. “Listen, Peter…I know you were hoping to work here as a real scientist after your internship, but I really think it’s for the best if you start looking for employment elsewhere.”

Peter stands up, leaving the room as fast as his legs can carry him. He finds out he got cheated on and Pepper fires him within 30 seconds.

He breaks into the bathroom, locking the door and sobbing violently. Heart wrenching, throat destroying, ugly sobbing. He cries and cries and cries until he passes out on the bathroom floor, not getting enough air in his lungs.

~

“I, Tony Stark, take you, Peter Parker, to be my lawfully wedded husband.”

Peter is crying, he’s crying and it’s stupid but he is and he pulls Tony down to kiss him. He’s _married_. He’s in love and he’s married and he has a ready made kid and—

Speak of the devil, Morgan giggles and pulls on Peter’s suit jacket. “Peter! Me too!”

And Peter laughs and picks her up, and Tony and Peter kiss one of her cheeks each.

Later, it’ll end up being Peter’s favorite picture ever taken.

~

Peter stares at that picture now, holding his phone close to his face. He looks up as the doctor comes in.

“No head injury, just some mild dehydration. You can be checked out whenever you’re ready.”

Peter nods numbly, throwing his legs over the side of the bed.

No one had come to check on him. Tony was right; he has no friends. No one to love him.

No one who care if he went missing.

~

Peter furiously wipes away the tears from his face, running as fast as he can to his bedroom.

Morgan is there waiting for him, crying too.

Peter sniffs and goes into Papa mode, crouching down to her level and pushing her hair back. “What’s wrong, my sweet angel?”

Morgan seems shocked to see Peter crying. “You had a nightmare too?”

Peter touches his face, and sighs. Dammit, kids are observant. “Sorta. How about you and me cuddle, yeah? we’ll keep each other’s nightmares away.”

“What was your nightmare?” She clings to Peter’s neck, already yawning.

Peter swallows thickly, carrying her into Tony’s bedroom. “That your daddy and I split up.”

Morgan gasps and shakes her head. “That’ll never happens, Papa!”

Peter smiles sadly and tucks her into Tony’s side of the bed. If only that were reassuring.

~

“My client, Mr. Tony Stark, wants full custody of his daughter. Mr. Peter Stark has no blood relation to her, and did not adopt her; there is no reason you shouldn’t grant him full custody, your honor.” Bruce sits down after his speech, shuffling his papers together.

Peter stares at the girl sitting next to Tony, holding his hand. She was sleeping with his husband. She was sleeping with his husband before he asked for a divorce. And she was going to see Morgan every day, while Peter, Morgan’s Papa, would probably never see her again.

Natasha stands, smiling at the judge. “My client, Mr. Peter Stark, would like shared custody of Morgan Stark. He helped raise her, and she calls him Papa. She loves my client just as much as she does Mr. Tony Stark. Denying her right to see her beloved Papa would be cruel.”

The judge shakes her head. “Mr. Peter Stark has no legal reason to have custody of Morgan Stark. Case-“

“Wait, your honor, please—at least give him visitation rights—“

“That would need to be another court case. Case dismissed; Mr. Tony Stark continues to have full custody over Morgan Stark.”

Peter curls in on himself, putting his head in his hands. He’s never going to see her again.

~

Tony shakes his head, not looking up from his work. “Why the hell would you adopt her? You’re her Papa, she loves you, why do you need a piece of paper to say it? I’m busy Peter, please give me space.”

Peter shakes his head, puffing his chest out. “I need this, Tony. I’m just her stepdad right now; I don’t have any legal rights—“

“Later, Peter! Please. I’m in the middle of this.”

~

“Peter!”

Peter doesn’t answer her. He stares out the window. It’s sunny outside; not a cloud in the sky. Beautiful day. Morgan would want to be in the park right now. She would want Peter to push her on the swing.

“Peter!” Natasha snaps her fingers in his face. “Peter, come on kid. I need your head in the game. If we can’t have Morgan, we can take everything else from him. I can be vicious; I can take his company, his cars, his house. I can—“

Peter looks to her, and the far away look in his eyes shuts her up. “What’s the point, Nat? What’s the point of having all that money? Who’s it for? _What’s_ it for?”

“Revenge? Success? Gloating rights? Comfort? Loads of things!” Natasha huffs in annoyance. “You have an opportunity here, kid! You didn’t sign a prenup! You can _easily_ walk away with half, and I could get you all of it, I’m good enough for that!”

Peter shakes his head. “No you aren’t. The only thing I asked you for, you couldn’t get me. The _only_ thing.” He looks out the window again. “It’s her birthday, today. She’s 8 years old.”

“You’re 26, kid. You’re smart, you’re pretty, you’re about to be rich. You can start a new family.”

Peter blinks slowly. “I usually made her chocolate cake, but she’s decided she doesn’t like chocolate anymore. I wonder who’s making her cake today. I wonder what flavor she asked for.”

“Peter…”

Peter turns to look at her. “I’m done, Natasha. She was all I wanted. Tell him he can have everything; I won’t be needing it much longer anyway.” He stands and walks out of the office before Natasha can ask what that means.

~

“Daddy?” Tony looks up from his phone, smiling at his daughter. “Hey kiddo. What’s up?”

Morgan twists her fingers. “Where’s Papa? I miss him.”

Tony works his jaw. “He’s away for a bit, but daddy is working on making him come back, alright? He left us, but I’m trying really hard.”

Morgan pouts. “Papa wouldn’t leave me. That’s a lie.”

Tony raises a brow. “I don’t know what to tell you, Morgan. He did.”

Morgan grabs his phone. “Call Papa! I’ll tell him to come home.”

Tony stares at her in shock. “Morgan, don’t-“

“Hey Siri!” She looks down at the phone, and Tony stands. She ignores him. “Call Peter.”

“Calling: Peter.” The phone starts to ring, and Tony lunges for the phone. “Morgan, give me my phone back! You are in so much trouble young lady, I-“

“Tony?”

Morgan shoots Tony an evil grin. “Papa! I stole daddy’s phone. Come home Papa, pretty please?”


	2. I’ll Destroy Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked:  
> omg grace what do i have to do for a p2 to the divorce fic 🥺🥺 its honestly so well written i actually am typing this w tear tracks still on my face 😭

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: brutal divorce, suicidal attempt, angst without a happy ending.

Peter stares at the notes. He’s made about ten suicide notes, and he hates all of them. He wrote a few for Tony, but Tony doesn’t care anymore. He wrote several for Morgan; but she’s so young and probably won’t see it anyway. And he tried writing a few adressed to whoever found him, but then he thought about how angry Tony would get, thinking it was for the news.

Eventually, he wrote this one for Natasha, his lawyer.

_Nat, never let anyone see this note. If Tony found out I made one, he would say I was doing this for the press. Tell Bruce to tell Tony that I committed suicide, so he won’t have to worry about me anymore. Tell him… tell him I never wanted his money, his company, his fame, or to ruin his image or whatever. I just… I just wanted Tony. I just wanted to be loved. But I see now, that’s never going to happen. I don’t have any money, I don’t have a place to live and I don’t have any other assets. There’s nothing to settle in my will. You can give to charity anything you find in my apartment, I have some clothes and a couple cans of soup in the pantry. Haven’t had time to buy anything else since Tony kicked me out. Sorry my case was boring, Nat._

Peter stares at it after he’s done, nodding to himself once. He throws the rest of the letters in the fire, to make sure no one ever finds them.

He grabs the tub of bleach he bought at the dollar store on his way home, his phone, and the note. He sits on the floor, leaning against the counter in the ‘kitchen’—it’s a studio—and he stares at the picture of him, Tony, and Morgan on their wedding day.

He sends a text to Nat— _Hey, come over ASAP. I changed my mind and want to talk about the case some more_.—before going back to the picture.

He waits until he gets the okay from Nat, and then he uncaps the bottle of bleach, looking between it and his phone. That picture is the last thing he wants to see before he goes.

He brings the bottle to his lips, about to drink, when-

He stares at the phone. That’s Tony. Tony is calling him. Does he want to give it another go? Does he want to forgive Peter? Does he want to get back together?

“Tony?”

Morgan sounds out of breath on the other end. “Papa! I stole daddy’s phone. Come home Papa, please?”

Peter closes his eyes, face contorting in pain. “I’m sorry baby, I can’t. I’m not allowed in the building. Put daddy on the phone baby, please?”

Shuffling, and whispered words.

“Peter…”

Peter feels his breath catch, and he slaps a hand over his mouth. He takes several deep breaths, before he swallows thickly and pushes his hair back. “Tony.”

“What do you want!” He sounds cold, uncaring. He doesn’t sound like he misses Peter.

Peter shakes his head. “Morgan wants me to come over. Can I please come over?”

Tony laughs; cruel. “Of course you can’t come over. You lost, Peter. You can’t take her from me.”

Peter feels tears fall down his face. “I never wanted to take her from you Tony. You _know_ that, why would you say that! I just want to see her—“

“Then you shouldn’t have fucking left me, Peter!” Tony clenches his teeth. “You left me.”

Peter sobs and shakes his head. “You cheated on me! You stopped loving me and you started treating me like shit and then you fucking cheated on me. You don’t love me anymore, what am I supposed to do Tony?!” Hes still sobbing, chest heaving. “Am I supposed to just stay in your house and be a ghost? Spend the rest of my life knowing you don’t want me there, and you’d rather be with some girl?”

Tony laughs again, but it sounds more like disbelief this time. “I wasn’t cheating on you! Who told-“

“Pepper! Pepper told me.”

Tony is silent on the other end, and the longer the silence goes on the more Peter wants to die.

“Tell me, Tony!” Peter screams into the phone. “What do you want me to do, Tony?! You want me to waste away in a room, knowing you don’t love me and you’re sleeping and loving someone else? Just sit there and be quiet, never bothering you or ‘annoying’ you like how it used to be? What can I do, Tony, to make you happy! What do you want?!”

“I want you to die, Parker.” The phone clicks as Tony hangs up on him.

Peter’s hand shakes as he drops the phone, and he falls back against the counter, sliding down to the floor.

Peter breaks, in that moment. He doesn’t cry. He doesn’t scream, or curse the world, or do much of anything.

He grabs the bleach he had put away before he got the phone call, and he starts to chug it. He doesn’t grab his phone To look at the picture this time.

~

He made a mistake, though.

If he had drank the bleach before he accepted the phone call, Nat would have shown up too late to save him.

But because he spent so much time on the phone, she showed up in time to save him.

He knows this, because he woke up in a hospital bed, with his wrists tied to the bed.

Natasha looks up the second Peter goes to move. “Oh, thank god. I’m sure your mouth hurts, so don’t bother speaking. I have amazing news, Peter. Technically, this classifies you as out of your right mind, which means your next of kin makes decisions for you. Because you don’t have a next of kin, that responsibility falls on me as your lawyer.

“And I’ve decided I’m driving Tony Stark into the ground, for what he’s done to you.” She stands up, putting a hand on Peter’s leg softly. “I’ll destroy him, Peter. I’ll take everything from him, and I’ll get it for you. Including Morgan. Mark my words, Peter. Morgan will be yours by the time I’m done with him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might do another part of people like it


	3. You Have to Change, Tony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Peter’s attempt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: mentions of suicide attempt, brutal divorce, mean characters, unhealthy relationships, unhealthy coping mechanisms, POV switches.

Natasha Romanoff is a fierce woman. She is strong, smart, authoritative, and strong-willed. When she sets her mind to do something, she does it.

That’s why she’s in a room with Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, plus a witness.

“Why are we here, Romanoff?” Bruce asks. He seems tired. Good.

“Recording,” the witness says after she looks at him.

Nat clears her throat, and stands up. She looks at Tony until the man puts his phone down, glaring up at her. “Peter tried to kill himself,” she says flatly. “He chugged a bottle of bleach. On his phone showed a phone call, exactly five minutes before I found him. Would you like to admit who that phone call was to?”

Tony’s face goes sheet white, and he looks seconds away from passing out. Bruce looks devastated, and isn’t doing anything to comfort Tony. “He tried to... he... he...”

“His last call was to you, Tony,” she spits. “You called him. You drove him to suicide. _You_ made him want to end his life.”

Tony shakes his head, looking like he’s going to be sick. “No. You’re lying. You’re-“

Natasha pulls out the suicide note. “Dear Nat, never let anyone see this note. If Tony found out I made one, he would say I was doing this for the press. Tell Bruce to tell Tony that I committed suicide, so he won’t have to worry about me anymore. Tell him I never wanted his money, his company, his fame, or to ruin his image or whatever. I just wanted Tony. I just wanted to be loved. But I see now, that’s never going to happen. I don’t have any money, I don’t have a place to live and I don’t have any other assets. There’s nothing to settle in my will. You can give to charity anything you find in my apartment, I have some clothes and a couple cans of soup in the pantry. Haven’t had time to buy anything else since Tony kicked me out. Sorry my case was boring, Nat.” She throws the letter on the table, and Bruce grabs it, eyes raking over it.

“No,” Tony whispers. “No, he didn’t do that because of me. _He_ left _me_! That was his choice, I didn’t-“

Nat slams her hands on the table, shutting Tony up. “You verbally abused him most of your marriage, you refused to give him the right to adopt his daughter, you cheated on him with some bimbo and then flaunted her in Peter’s face in court, and to put the cherry on top of your shit cake, you told him you wanted him dead.” She grins evilly when Tony’s eyes widen in horror. “Oh, you didn’t think I would know about all of that?” She asks, voice sweet despite her words.

“Stop,” Bruce says, sliding the letter back across the table. “What do you want, Natasha?” Why did you call this meeting?”

Nat hums, sitting down. “Boy am I glad you asked,” she says. She glares at Tony evilly. “As Peter doesn’t have a next of kin, thanks to you Tony, that makes _me_ his sole representative. Peter wanted nothing, he wanted for you and Morgan to live your lives as is and for me to give up on him.” She licks her lips. “But I’m his voice now. I decide what he wants now. And you know what I want, Stark?”

Bruce sighs. “Watch it Nat, don’t -“

“I want you to pay for what you’ve done.” Natasha says, cutting Bruce off. “Peter didn’t want to drive you into the ground, he only wanted partial custody of his daughter. The girl he spent six years of his life helping raise. You should have given him that, Stark, because now? Now I’m not going to stop until you have _nothing_.”

~

Peter states out the hospital window, reaching to itch his face and sighing heavily when he can’t. His wrists are tied to the bed.

He can’t even say he’s fine and doesn’t need them. If they weren’t watching him, he would try again.

His mouth hurts like a son of a bitch, sores and raw skin all over. He can talk, but it hurts. He can eat, but it hurts. And so on.

A nurse comes in and smiles sadly at him. “Hello, Mr. Stark. Is there anything I can do for you?” She asks, already taking his blood pressure.

Peter clears his throat and winces, but sighs again. “My face itches,” he whispers. “Right in the middle of my right cheek.”

The nurse scratches his cheek for him, and he relaxes. It’s funny how such a small thing can bother him so much. “Thank you,” he whispers.

She smiles sadly and nods, writing down a few things on her pad as she works to get his vitals. She hums and pulls away. “Anything else, Peter?” She asks softly.

Peter shakes his head, looking back out the window. “Thank you,” he repeats.

~

Tony is pacing Bruce’s office, muttering to himself. Bruce is sitting at his desk, looking wholly unbothered. “Bruce! This is a nightmare, why aren’t you-“

“Is it true?” Bruce asks, looking up. “You told him to kill himself?”

Tony looks down, guilty. “Not technically. I said I wanted him dead. I didn’t think he would do anything about it.”

Bruce rubs a hand on his face. “And you cheated on him?”

“That’s not true,” Tony says, looking hopeful. “I’m paying her to stand by me and look like she cares about me. I never met her before Peter asked for a divorce. I wanted to make him jealous.”

Bruce rubs his eyes. “So you lied about cheating on him, told him you want him dead, and you verbally abused him throughout your marriage.”

Tony stutters. “I didn’t... I didn’t...”

Bruce leans back. “I’m about to quit, Tony. There’s no way we can win this! You were a terrible husband, and you have been manipulating him both in and after your marriage.”

“I just wanted him back!” Tony yells at Bruce. “I want him to give up, I want him to come back to me! I don’t want to ruin him, I want him to come back to me!”

Bruce laughs and shakes his head. “The only way he’s coming back to you is if you change. And when I say change, I mean change everything about you. No more putting work first, no more denying him basic human decency, no more treating him like an annoyance. If you can’t do that, you’re not just going to lose him, Tony. You’re going to lose _everything_.”

~

Peter looks up as Natasha enters his room. He stares at her, not saying anything yet.

Natasha clears her throat and sits next to his bed. “How are you doing, Peter?”

Peter glares at her, not saying anything. He wants to be dead, so the fact that he’s alive at all is pissing him off.

Natasha sighs. “I’m sorry you don’t want to be alive, but I’m going to change that okay? I’m going to take everything from him, including Morgan. With the evidence your journal and your verbal testimonies to me that I have recorded, I can prove him unfit to be a parent.”

Peter tears up and shakes his head. “Morgan loves him. You can’t do that.”

Nat grins evilly. “He didn’t seem to care that Morgan loves you. Why should I care?”

“Because I’m different, Natasha!” He yells at her, fighting the restraints. “I don’t want to hurt him, I don’t want to use Morgan as a pawn to get what I want, I’m not looking to ruin anyone’s life! I don’t want any of that! I just want Morgan to be happy, and...”

Nat cocks her head. “And?”

“And... and I just want to go back in time, when Tony still loved me and didn’t wish I was never there. I don’t want to ruin him, I don’t want to take Morgan away from him. I just _miss_ him.” Peter starts crying, shaking his head. “I miss him. I’ve been missing him for years, way before the divorce. I miss him, I just want my Tony back. But I can’t have him, so the only thing I can do is not be near this new, mean, abusive Tony.”

Natasha stands, turning off the recording on her phone. “I can’t make him nice again. But I can make him pay. And I will.”

~

Morgan runs into the living room when the front door opens, smiling at Tony. “Daddy!” She says happily, hugging his waist.

Tony smiles sadly down at her, kissing her hair softly. “Hey baby girl. How was your day?”

Morgan hums happily. “It was good! We learned about the times table today! I can multiply the best out of all my classmates!”

Tony smiles down happily at her. “That’s amazing, sweetheart. I always knew you would be fantastic at that.”

Morgan beams and pulls away. “Daddy, when is Papa coming home?”

Tony’s face crumbles. He sits down on the couch, and pulls her into his lap. “Baby, I have a confession to make.”

Morgan cocks her head to the side, listening carefully. “What is it?”

Tony fights back tears, because he doesn’t want to cry in front of her. “Papa left me because I was treating him very badly. I was treating him very badly, and he couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t deserve to be treated like that and he did what was best for him.”

Morgan looks at him very sadly. “So he isn’t coming back?”

Tony hesitates. “Well... that depends on if daddy can change or not,” he says softly. “I need to relearn how to treat Papa in a way that makes him feel safe, loved, and wanted.”

Morgan perks up. “I can help with that, daddy!” She says.

Tony quirks a brow. “You can?”

Morgan nods. “Yeah! Papa can tell me when you’re being a meanie head again, and I can ground you!” She says, copying how Tony grounds her when she does something bad.

Tony laughs at first, but then he thinks about it and... “Huh. That might actually work.”

Morgan rolls her eyes. “Duh, daddy, of course it will work! I came up with it!”

Tony smiles fondly and shakes his head. “Your ego is rivaling mine, Morguna. Watch it.”

She giggles and gets off his lap. “Let’s go find Papa, make him come home!”

Tony smiles and picks up his phone. “Okay sweetheart. You go to your room, do some homework. I’ll set up a time for us to talk to him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Like this chapter?

**Author's Note:**

> https://starkerfics.tumblr.com/post/627340833048477697/starker-gone


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